The 2017 IAP2 USA Skills Symposium will involve a wide range of courses of varying duration and topics exploring skills, tools, and techniques that support effective public participation. This training will be undertaken in a rich learning environment, with activities building a creative and supportive space for participants whether they spend a day or the whole week at the event.

The Foundations in Public Participation course includes two modules: Planning for Effective Public Participation, a three-day course that is the prerequisite for the two-day Techniques for Public Participation. Upon completion of both modules, participants receive a certificate of completion from IAP2.

Once you have completed the planning course, you are ready to add 50+ practical tools and methodologies to your public participation toolkit-powerful techniques you can put to immediate use in your next project. This module breaks down specific methods including World Cafe, Interviews, Revolving Conversations, Deliberation, and Advisory Groups. You'll also learn how to establish and maintain effective communication throughout the process.

In these challenging times of environmental, health, cultural, economic and social changes the Emotion, Outrage and Public Participation course will enhance your practice, support your clients and equip you to think about and learn how to apply behaviors that will enhance quality public participation outcomes where communities are emotional or outraged and therefore not yet at the place where they can fully participate in a public engagement process. This course will help you plan for those type of circumstances.